Julie Topping: Righting past wrongs by stopping future ones

May 25, 2013

Arthur Haggerty, 56, of Detroit, left, and Damon Handsor, 50, of Eastpointe stand in front of the Wayne County Juvenile Detention Facility in Detroit last month. Both men served time in prison and now work with kids to help them make better choices. / Kathleen Galligan/Detroit Free Press

Written by

Julie Topping

Detroit Free Press Managing Editor

If you want to help Arthur Haggerty make a difference in youth violence, go to www.stovedetroit.com or call him at 313-658-2381.

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Arthur Haggerty used to be one of the young people in his city who was running on the wrong side of the law. But now Haggerty is an activist who wants to shout from the rooftops that the crime going on in metro Detroit is unconscionable.

That’s partly because the 56-year-old believes today’s youth violence is more brutal than it used to be. And in Haggerty’s mind, organized, polite workshops about crime run by people who have no real experience with violence, either as an attacker or a victim, aren’t going to make the crime statistics any better.

You see, Haggerty knows. He was convicted of armed robbery and manslaughter in his younger years and spent 16 years in prison.

So he wants to bring his knowledge about crime to classrooms and other organizations to help kids learn what a life of crime really means, and how you can be strong through his program, StoveDetroit.com. STOVE stands for Stop The Ongoing Violence Epidemic.

Being under peer pressure to join a gang, having sex with many women, not being a “hater” or a “snitch” when the police haul you in are what kids today care about, Haggerty says. Today’s young criminals take pride in being able to “take a whuppin’.” Haggerty talks to them about reality. When you’re in the room with police, they will break you down, he says. “Adversity makes you tell.”

He lets them know it’s not true that there is pressure to be in a gang. His advice? “Find your niche and run with it. Hang out with people who do what you do.”

Damon Handsor works with Haggerty during these workshops. He talks to the kids about drugs, borne from his own experience. Handsor started drinking when he was a kid and his older cousins gave him alcohol because they got a kick out of watching him get drunk. The 50-year-old spent time in W.J. Maxey Training School when he was only 14 for shooting a friend who was trying to take his gun back. He looks back now and knows his addiction to alcohol and drugs helped make a mess of his life, even though he had an opportunity to get a degree at Wayne County Community College District.

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The two of them want Detroit’s power brokers to listen to their message, but they are frustrated because they can’t get anyone’s attention. Haggerty talks fast, and he bothers you again and again. He telephones you over and over. He makes people uncomfortable. That’s because he’s got a point to make — and nobody’s paying attention.

Erin Stephens, a spokeswoman with the Detroit Police Department, remembers talking to Haggerty several years ago, when he came to her for help and advice. “He’s just a lonely soldier out there,” she said. But she believes his enthusiasm will take him a long way. “He’s a rock that can cause a ripple in a neighborhood.”

He is one of many Detroiters who want to be part of the change. But because he doesn’t have a well-known name or program, he feels he doesn’t get the attention he deserves. He needs other people in Detroit to help him spread his message, and it’s tough.

Luther Keith, president and organizer of ARISE Detroit, says there are many people in Detroit who want to do good but don’t have the structure in place to make a big impact. ARISE specializes in helping the community work together with Detroit groups to make bigger things happen.

So what keeps Haggerty motivated? Two things. He sees that current crime is getting worse and that the mechanisms in place to stop or temper violence among our youth aren’t working.

But he also he realizes the tables have turned.

“I used to be the predator. Now I am considered a mark. Because when you’ve got gray hair and you’re an older person, we’re the ones being hit in the head and being robbed. ... I’m fearful.”